The Lost Seas

Time to get payed

Escape from Makla 1

18

JUN/13

Recorded by scholars studying the life of Zuri.

After their bewildering battle against the undead of the Black Wash, our heroes began discussing their present predicaments. The party had presumably completed their task for House Kish, but this success was accompanied by some unfortunate complications; namely the death of General Akkad by Bost’s hand, their newfound possession of Akkad’s Golden Lion of Urik, and of course the party’s outstanding business with the Smoking Crown Initiates. After hours of deliberation, the party decided that their best course of action would be to deliver the news of their success to House Kish first thing in the morning, concealing their involvement in Akkad’s death with a story of the general’s heroics in battle and his unfortunate demise at the hands of the undead horde. The ritual book borrowed from the templars of Makla would have to be returned so as to shield the party from any suspicion, and contact with the Smoking Crown Initiates would need to be avoided for the duration of their time under the rim of dawn. Of course, no word would be spoken of their possession of the Golden Lion. There was one reassuring thing that night though, the terrifying screams once heard in the darkness of the Black Wash had finally stopped.

When the party returned to Bloodyfoot the next morning, they were quickly reminded of one further complication that they hadn’t accounted of. During their meeting with Uday Kish, Uday enquired about the location of House Kish’s lent property, the genasi slave K’tek, whose miserable fate that journey is far too terrible to retell here. Thinking on her feet, Dazeel quickly modified the party’s cover story to include the shocking betrayal of K’tek, who, obviously still in league with the Smoking Crown Initiates, assassinated Akkad in broad daylight. The party had no choice but to put K’tek down once and for all. The other members of the party attested to this, and Uday seemed satisfied by this explanation of both Akkad and K’tek’s deaths, even going as far as to give our heroes a bonus for dealing with the no-good K’tek. A chit was issued to the party with instruction to receive their payment from Sazerak Saltcrosser in Makla.

Entering Makla, the party was met by Androcles, a veiled Balican human who claimed to be an associate of Plega, the mysterious brown elf encountered months ago at the Mahindrazal, presumed by the party to have perished along with the other unfortunate travelers ensnared by the foul sand bride Zindriel. Androcles claimed to have been sent by Plega to assist us in our mutual interests and then expressed some surprise at the party’s unhindered arrival, informing them that a crackdown of sorts had recently been imposed along the roads leading in and out of Makla. Being that our heroes were a welcoming bunch, and intrigued to learn what Plega may consider “our mutual interests”, Androcles was invited to accompany the party as they went to find Sazerak and get their reward.

Thankfully, Sazerak was similarly satisfied by the party’s accounts of what occurred in the black wash, and invited the party in to enjoy House Kish’s hospitality, bringing them refreshing broy and local zatla. Eventually, Sazarak left the room, presumably to procure the payment directed by Uday’s chit. Sazarak had been gone a long while when some of the party began to become suspicious. Dazeel leapt up to investigate, pearing out the front window where he observed a gathering of Urikite soldiers and a templar speaking with decidedly nervous looking Sazerak. Out the rear window was a similar scene, though decidedly less imposing than the one out front. After some bickering over how to respond to the situation, it was soon decided for them as a call was heard in the front demanding the surrender of the Tyrian travellers. One by one our heroes quietly crawled out the rear window. It was Zuri, who had foolishly made a point of exiting with Sazerak’s five foot zatla pipe in tow, that alerted the assembling soldiers to their escape as the pipe was heard scraping loudly across the ground beneath the window.

The battle quickly escalated and the party engaged the small assemblage of soldiers led by their captain and one of Hamanu’s templars. The Tyrians proved to be too much for the Urikites however, as they struck down the soldiers one by one, surrounded the captain on all sides, and resisted the empowered gaze of the fearsome templar. As the templar turned to flee, he was struck down by one of Zuri’s powerful psychic attacks. Before more Urikite soldiers could arrive, our heroes fled into the streets of Makla to plan their next move.

After witnessing the arrest of a Tyrian merchant, it was decided that Makla was no longer a place to be for affiliates of Tyr, and the party elected to flee the region as quickly as possible.